Just Like a Child
by Ssus
Summary: Nightmares are still haunting the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and every now and then he just needed a little comfort, a confirmation that he wasn't alone. (A one shot related to my story 'When Luffy Went a Little too Far', but can be read alone.)


**Just Like a Child**

**A little one shot of Luffy having nightmares and looking for comfort from one of his nakama. It can be read alone, but in case anyone who is reading this hasn't read "When Luffy Went a Little Too Far", this one shot is related to that story. It's just a little something that was mentioned in that story off handedly, and I wanted to explore it further. :) **

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_He was running after his brothers, trying his best to keep up but his small feet just couldn't run fast enough._

"_ACE! SABO!" He called for them, and just like always, they stopped and waited for him to catch up. An ear splitting grin took over his face as he lounged himself in the arms of his waiting brother. Sabo laughed at his silliness and squeezed just a little harder._

"_You're spoiling him rotten, Sabo. Little squirt can't even run properly, how is he ever gonna learn to fight?" Ace had a mischievous grin on his face as he looked at Luffy, obviously challenging the smaller boy to a fight._

"_That's mean! I can run too, and fight! When I'm ten I'll run as fast as you!"_

_Ace just laughed and stuck out his tongue in a childish manner._

"_Idiot! When you're ten, I'll be thirteen! You will never catch up. And if you call what you do fighting, then I'm a mountain bandit." Luffy was starting to get seriously angry, his young mind unable to contain his frustration._

"_Not true! I can fight, I can! Right Sabo?!" He looked at his other brother hopefully, knowing that the blonde was way more gentle and nicer, at least most of the time._

"_No, but he is right Luffy, isn't he. How can you say you can fight when you couldn't even save me?" At this the 7-year-old's eyes widened in shock, staring at Sabo. And as he looked, blood started to run down his brother's face._

"_Sa-Sabo?" Luffy couldn't help but take a step back, horrified at the sight. The red liquid was running all over his brother's face as his skin seemed to peel off. It didn't take long for the blood to start forming a pool on the ground, growing bigger, wider. Sabo looked like his whole body was crumbling and falling to pieces._

"_Why, Luffy? Why weren't you there? I DIED! I died before I even got to leave this God damn island!" Sabo was yelling. He never yelled. And now there were tears in Luffy's eyes as he fell to the ground, too shaky to stand. He watched as Sabo fell to the ground, unmoving._

"_Yeah, Luffy. Why?" This time it was Ace, and as much as Luffy dreaded to, he couldn't help but look at the freckled face. Ace was older now, kneeling on the ground and holding his hands over a gaping hole on his chest, in vain trying to keep the red rivers flowing. His blood joined Sabo's and the puddle was now big enough to make Luffy's knees wet._

"_How is it fair that you get to live, and we had to die? Why? WHY!? You were right there and you were too damn useless to pull through in the end!" The light in Ace's eyes dimmed down as he fell lifelessly next to Sabo's little form._

_Luffy was shaking all over, his mind screaming at him to make it stop, the pain in his chest telling him to do something, anything to make it stop. And then there were the voices of his nakama, one after another asking him the same question: why?_

"_Why can't you ever take anything seriously, Luffy?"_

"_What is wrong with you, it shouldn't even be possible to do that wrong. Why are you so useless?"_

"_Why didn't you save us Luffy, why?"_

_Here the raven lifted his head, looking at his crew who were standing around him, throwing accusations at him._

"_No! No, I… You're not dead, you're fine! I didn't fail…"_

"_But are you sure, Luffy? How can you be sure?"_

"_Yeah, maybe it's all just a dream, we're not really here, Luffy. We're dead, we died, and you weren't there. In the end you weren't there." The last voice was Sanji and suddenly Luffy saw the blonde fall over, splashing blood everywhere. Empty eyes stared at him, and then Luffy realized they were all gone. And just like that, Sanji's body was slowly fading away, the blood reaching Luffy's elbows now as he tried to reach out to his last nakama._

"_SANJIIII!"_

The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates sat up in panic, right hand reaching out to something that wasn't there. His eyes were wide and his breathing harsh, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

Slowly he let the shaking hand fall, still unable to do anything else. He was too afraid to look around. What if they weren't there? What if this was a dream and what he just saw was real? He couldn't do it, he couldn't go on living knowing he was all alone. The scar on his chest felt like it was on fire and for a moment Luffy curled in on himself, fingers desperately scratching the scar and trying to make the pain go away.

It took him several deep breaths to gather enough courage to finally straighten up again and move his gaze around the room. There they were, all sleeping in their hammocks, looking peaceful and unbothered.

But he still couldn't be sure. How could he know they wouldn't just disappear, how was he supposed to know he wasn't just imagining them there, the pain of being alone making him crazy? He had to know, he had to. He needed confirmation, something solid to convince him he wasn't alone.

As quietly as he could, he lowered himself onto the floor and started shuffling to the other side of the room. The wooden floor felt cold under his bare feet but he didn't mind. The solidness of the hard material felt soothing and the coolness seemed to seep into his body and easy the burning of his scar.

Luffy's mind was set on finding the person who he had failed to protect. He had tried to reach out, but he was too late.

And so he tried again, his hand searching for something to hold on to. His fingers gripped around the back of a t-shirt, squeezing so hard they might have just broken into pieces had they not been made out of rubber.

The owner of the shirt started moving around, finding it hard to wake up. He'd been sleeping like a log, and now there was something tugging on his shirt and forcing him to turn around. He was fully prepared to tell them to fuck the hell of, but a small sound stopped him in his tracks.

"_Sanji._" One simple word, whispered in the darkness of the room. It was so quiet and soft he almost missed it. But it was there, and it held so much more than it should have. There was pain, fear and longing hidden in that simple word, and it made Sanji look up and take in the form of the raven haired boy standing above him, still gripping his shirt like his life depended on it. Looking at the figure carefully, Sanji didn't see the fearless, care free man that was his captain, but a lost 19-year-old who was just like a child coming to his parent after a nightmare and the sight of that child broke his heart.

"_Sanji._" There it was again, and out of pure instinct the blonde reached out and pulled the younger boy down into a firm embrace. He had only had a quick look at said boy's face, but even in the non-existing light of the room it was all he needed. If the pain in the voice hadn't done it, then the look of raw fear and uncertainty that displayed in those onyx eyes was more than enough.

Sanji pulled his captain as close as he could, gently running his other hand through the black locks that tickled his chin. That's when the other's body started shaking and a pair of hands shot out to squeeze the cook's waist in a bruising grip, but he didn't mind. This was the boy that had saved him from himself. This boy had practically dragged him out to the sea and forced him to be part of a group of misfits that turned out to be a weird, mismatched family where they had each other's backs no matter what. This boy had given him a place to call home and the chance to chase his dream. Without this boy, he had nothing.

And so Sanji kept on holding him, waiting for the shaking to stop and the arms around his waist to relax as Luffy fell asleep. With a sad smile on his face Sanji whispered: "We're here. I'm here. You're not alone."

And with that he squeezed just a little bit harder as he let his mind follow into the comforting darkness.

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**Aaaand there it is. Hope you enjoyed it, I got a little teary while writing this. :'( **

**-Ssus**


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